Do embodied semantic systems play different roles depending on when and how well a given language was learned? Emergent evidence suggests that this is the case for isolated, decontextualized stimuli, but no study has addressed the issue considering naturalistic narratives. Seeking to bridge this gap, we assessed motor-system dynamics in 26 Spanish-English bilinguals as they engaged in free, unconstrained reading of naturalistic action texts (ATs, highlighting the characters’ movements) and neutral texts (NTs, featuring low motility) in their first and second language (L1, L2). To explore functional connectivity spread over each reading session, we recorded ongoing high-density electroencephalographic signals and subjected them to functional connectivity analysis via a spatial clustering approach. Results showed that, in L1, AT (relative to NT) reading involved increased connectivity between left and right central electrodes consistently implicated in action-related processes, as well as distinct source-level modulations in motor regions. In L2, despite null group-level effects, enhanced motor-related connectivity during AT reading correlated positively with L2 proficiency and negatively with age of L2 learning. Taken together, these findings suggest that action simulations during unconstrained narrative reading involve neural couplings between motor-sensitive mechanisms, in proportion to how consolidated a language is. More generally, such evidence addresses recent calls to test the ecological validity of motor-resonance effects while offering new insights on their relation with experiential variables.

中文翻译：

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自然主义阅读第一语言和第二语言的动作叙事时的运动系统动力学

具身语义系统是否会根据特定语言的学习时间和学习程度而发挥不同的作用？新出现的证据表明，这是孤立的、脱离情境的刺激的情况，但没有研究考虑自然主义叙事来解决这个问题。为了弥补这一差距，我们评估了 26 名西英双语者的运动系统动力学，因为他们在自由、不受约束地阅读自然动作文本（AT，突出角色的动作）和中性文本（NT，具有低运动性）时他们的第一语言和第二语言（L1、L2）。为了探索在每个阅读会话中分布的功能连接，我们记录了正在进行的高密度脑电图信号，并通过空间聚类方法对其进行功能连接分析。结果表明，在 L1 中，AT（相对于 NT）读数涉及左右中央电极之间的连接性增加，这些电极始终与动作相关过程有关，以及运动区域中不同的源级调制。在 L2 中，尽管组级效应无效，但 AT 阅读期间增强的运动相关连接与 L2 熟练程度呈正相关，与 L2 学习年龄呈负相关。综上所述，这些发现表明，在无约束的叙事阅读过程中，动作模拟涉及运动敏感机制之间的神经耦合，与语言的巩固程度成正比。更一般地说，这些证据解决了最近测试运动共振效应的生态有效性的呼声，同时提供了关于它们与经验变量关系的新见解。